The present invention relates to catheter assemblies.
During certain medical procedures a distal end of a catheter is positioned inside the patient's body, with a proximal end portion of the catheter extending outside the patient's body. The catheter may remain in this position for relatively short or for extended lengths of time, and the catheter may be used to drain fluids from the patient's body or inject fluids into the patient's body at a location where the patient reclines on the catheter. For example, in a continuous epidural or caudal anesthesia procedure an anesthetic solution is periodically injected through a catheter into the epidural space or sacral canal of the patient, respectively, while the patient may recline on his back over the catheter during a surgical procedure. Thus, it is necessary to prevent kinking of the catheter during the procedure, else the lumen of the catheter may become closed, preventing further injection of the anesthetic solution.